Maillet stretches World Cup advantage while Herrmann returns to top of podium

In-form Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet stretched his IBU World Cup lead with victory in the 10km sprint in Kontiolahti. The double Olympic gold medallist shot clean in Finland and came home in 23:21 to secure his second sprint win of the campaign and move to 696 World Cup points, 155 clear of compatriot Émilien Jacquelin, who finished sixth on Saturday after two shooting errors. Ad/> «The goal for the end of the season is the Globe and to continue to have good races,» said Fillon Maillet.

/> Kontiolahti'Sensational' — Norway triumph again in Kontiolahti with supreme relayYESTERDAY AT 15:42 «That is what happened today. It was not my perfect day but I felt good in the head and was confident. »I was a little bit lucky in the standing shooting because I had two bullets very close to the border." Sebastien Samuelsson was wearing the red bib as the overall sprint leader and started strongly, taking a 17-second lead after a quick first loop and clean shooting round.

But the Swede paid for two misses with the rifle second time around to give up the lead on the day and in the overall standings to Fillon Maillet, who secured his victory with a steady final lap. Norway's clean-shooting Filip Fjeld Andersen claimed his maiden World Cup podium spot in second, 18.3 seconds behind the victor, with German Johannes Kuehn third and Andersen's fellow countryman Sivert Guttorm Bakken also recording a personal best finish in fourth. The women's 7.5km sprint went the way of Denise Herrmann, who got off the mark for the season.